England have declared that they are “ready for a fight” in their Women’s Rugby World Cup semi-final against France with No 8 Alex Matthews relishing another meeting with their rivals.
The Red Roses have won their last 16 meetings with France, a run that stretches back to 2018, but have found their record winning streak regularly threatened by their fiercest Women’s Six Nations foe.
France roared back to lose by only a point in the 43-42 grand slam decider at Twickenham earlier this year, with England leading 31-7 at one point in the first half but threatening to throw away a position of real strength.
Les Bleues have faced significant adversity this week, too, with co-captain Manae Feleu suspended for a high tackle, flanker Axelle Berthoumieu banned for biting and fly half Lina Queyroi ruled out due to concussion.
England forwards coach Louis Deacon has insisted his side are ready for the lift in intensity having progressed relatively smoothly to the semi-final stage and will go toe-to-toe with France, whatever they bring.
“We certainly know what to expect,” Deacon said. “One thing this week is that [France] have faced a bit of adversity. The girls are ready for a fight but we trust in our process and our preparation.
“They will definitely use it. They will want to come out of the blocks. We are ready to fight, we are ready to hunt them down. That is the mindset that all of the girls have got this week in terms of our preparations, it's been outstanding and looking forward to it.”
While England won a warm-up meeting with France in convincing fashion in Mont-de-Marsan ahead of this tournament, their coaching staff have dismissed that result as irrelevant given the raised stakes in Bristol this weekend.
They have more acutely reflected on both the game earlier this year and the meeting at Twickenham in 2023, which was decided by a single score after England had led 33-0 at half-time.
Matthews, a 2014 World Cup winner and one of the most experienced members of the Red Roses’ squad, believes that England will have to be ruthless to book their place in next week’s final.
“It's just always such a brilliant battle and I love playing France,” Matthews stressed. “It's these games you thrive off and do all of that hard work in. You want those battles, you want to be beaten up in those little moments.
“[The squandering of leads against France] is something we have addressed. We spoke to Mitch about it, about how we had put a ceiling on how we play but actually if the game plan is working don't take the foot off just keep going. Don't get bored of what is going well. It's definitely something we have addressed.”
